Frogless switch



Patented Jan. 3|, I899.

No. 6I8,4ll. v

.1. GRAHAM.

FBOGLESS SWITCH.

(Application, filed may 31, 1898.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR ATTORNEY. I

WITNESSES NlTED STATES JOHN GRAHAM, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

FROG LESS SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 618,411, dated January 31, 1899.

Application filed May 31,1898. Serial No. 682,117. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort WVorth, Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Frogless Switches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved railway-switch which can be adapted for use on any-gage railroad; and the invention consists in improvem cuts for operating a switch without the use of frogs and guard-rails, and the object is to construct a switch which is simple in construction and easily operated and which is strong and durable and not expensive to manufacture. By dispensing with frogs and guard-rails the danger of losing lives is lessened, because there are no places in which the feet of switchmen can be caught.

Another ad vantage in myswitch is that there is no jar to rolling-stock in passing over the switch or no more jar than on theordinary track,and consequently no reduction of speed is necessary in passing over the switch.

My switch can be manufactured at a cost of about seventy-five per cent. less than frogs and guard-rails.

Other objects and advantages will be fully described in the following description and particularly pointed out in the claim.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, foriningapart of this application, Figure I being a section of a railway-track, showing my improved switch applied and a part of the rod for operating the switch. Fig. II is another section of a railway-track, being a continuation of the trackshown in Fig. I and showing means for operating the switch. Fig. III is an enlarged view of the double-pointed pivoted swinging rail. Fig. IV is an enlarged view of one side of the clasp for guiding the throw-slide.

Similar characters of reference are used to indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings the main track is indicated by the figures 1 and 2,- and.the rail leading from the switch-point 3 is indicated by 2. A side track having rails 4 and 5 is shown along with the main line. The side track is provided with a lead 6 and a switch-point 7. I use two head-chairs 8 and 9, which are attached to ties 8 and 9, respectively. A swinging rail 10, about six feet long, having a point on each end about two and one-half inches long,is pivoted between the head-chairs at its middle point on aplate 11. This swinging rail and its attachments take the place of the frog in other switches. The rail 10 is held in place by two spikes 12 and 13 and braces 14 and 15, which are attached to the tie 15, spikes being driven through the plate 11. Braces 16 and 17 and 16 and 17 are attached t0 the castings of the head-chairs to prevent the possibility of the overlapping of the swinging rail 10. There is not much danger of this being done without these braces, because the points of the swinging rail lap against the rails 2, 2, 6, and 5. The points of this rail move from side to side on cut-outs 18 and 19 in the head-chairs 8 and 9. All the braces have cut-outs for the flange of the rails and none of the braces are high enough to be struck by the flanges of the car-wheels, the inner edges of the braces coming in the necks of the rails. The swinging rail 10 is operated by the rod 20, which is about eighty feet from the point of attachment to rail 10 to the bridle-rod 21 of the throw-stand. This rod is provided with guides 22, attached to the ties about twenty feet apart. There is an offset at 23 in order to go under the point 3 and another offset at 24 to bring the rod up to be on a level with the cog-wheel 25 and cog-wheel 26. Near the center of the rod 20 is placed an adjusting-bolt 27 for regulating the length of the rod to conform to expansion and contraction of the track. This bolt is about six inches and has a swivel connection 28 at one end, and the rod has a threaded portion 29 to receive the other end of the bolt. The rod 20 has a ratchet 30 on each side near the end to engage the cogs 25 and 26. It is preferable to have cog 26 eight inches in diameter andthe cog 25 four inches in diameter. The cog 25 is a guard and a support for the rod 20. WVith cog 25 on bolt-- shaft 31 the switch will throw to the right, looking to the left of the sheet. If placed on the bolt-shaft 32, the switch will throw to the left. The bolt-shafts 31, 32, and- 33 are about seven-eighths of an inch in diameter. The

bridle-rod 21 is provided with teeth 34, which engage cog 26 when operated from the throwstand 35. The bridle-rod 21 and the throwstand 35 are the same as those used on all,

switches, except that the bridle-rod has teeth or a ratchet for engaging the cog-wheel 26. Two clasps 36 hold the cog 26 and the bridlerod ratchet in mesh. A bolt 37, about fiveeighths of an inch in diam eter,provided with a suitable nut, holds these clasps on the bridle rod 21. The holes in the clasps 36 for the bolt are elongated, so that there will be enough play to prevent the binding of cog 26 and the ratchet of the bridle-rod. The shaft-bolts 31, 32. and are attached to a plate 38, which is spiked to a tie. The throw, with the bridlerod, operates the points 3 and 7, and the ratchet 34:, with cogs 25 and 26, operates the rod 20, and rod 20 operates the swinging rail to adjust the points of said rail whenever the points 3 and 7 are moved. The dotted outline shows how this rail is turned to connect lead 2 with rail 2 to form a continuous track for the main line and to connect the lead 6 to rail 5 to form a continuous track for the side track. The rod may pass under the lead 2 at any suitable place instead of passing under the point 3. The guides 22 are simply to prevent the rod 20 from being thrown out of place when being operated. This rod has only a longitudinal movement, except at the end which is attached to the rail 10. The longitudinal movement will cause the rod to spring enough to operate the rail 10.

It will be observed that there are no guardrails and no frogs seen in most railroadswitches.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a railway-track and side track provided with suitable points and leads; the combination of a bridle-rod for throwing said points and means for forming continuous tracks from said leads to the rails of said tracks alternath'ely, said means consisting of a double-pointed swinging rail pivoted between said leads and said rails, a rod for operating said pivoted rail, said rod having ratchetteeth on eachside near and extending to the end thereof, two cog-whee1s adapted to engage said ratchet-teeth, said bridle-rod having ratchet-teeth engaging one of said cogwheels, and clasps to hold said cog and said ratchet in mesh.

In testimony whereof I set myhand, in the presence of two witnesses, this 25th day of May, 1898.

JOHN GRAHAM.

W'itnesses:

D. O. GEORGE, J AMES GILFoRD BROWNING. 

